Man arrested with 2.5 tonnes of copper cable belonging to Prasa

Police arrested a man in possession of 2.5 tonnes of copper cable belonging to the Passenger Rail Agency of South Africa (Prasa) stored in a container at Mfuleni in Cape Town.

Cape Town's Metrorail passenger train infrastructure was dealt a knockout blow in November when vandals and thieves stripped the central line of infrastructure required to keep trains operational. The last remaining infrastructure is rapidly disappearing from the central line corridor, which serves the city's poorest and most densely populated communities in Khayelitsha and Philippi.

The suspect, whom police spokesperson Col Andrè Traut said was in his thirties, was arrested on Tuesday evening after members of the rapid rail police unit in Philippi acted on information leading them to the container where the cable was recovered.

Theft of non-ferrous metal and the damage to railway infrastructure are regarded as a high priority crimes and various crime-fighting initiatives are being applied to curb the scourge.

“The Zimbabwean man is scheduled to make his court appearance in Blue Downs once he has been charged,” said Traut.

Western Cape Metrorail spokesperson Riana Scott said management congratulated the teams for their “sterling efforts” to curb crime.

“The results bear testament to good co-operation among law-enforcement agencies,” she said.

“Metrorail appreciates the ongoing efforts to reduce metal theft within the rail environment. The copper cable was positively identified as Prasa property and the arrest made in terms of the Criminal Matters Amendment Act.”

Vacant holiday home targeted in Camps Bay

On the other side of Table Mountain, in the opulent beachfront suburb of Camps Bay, police arrested a burglar hiding out on the slopes of Table Mountain.

This was after he allegedly stole a flat-screen TV from a vacant holiday home in the area and sold it to an “unknown buyer”.

“Investigation led detectives to the holiday house where the burglary was discovered. The owner, who was oblivious of the matter, was traced and a burglary case docket was registered,” said Traut.

“Last night the suspect was arrested where he was hiding on the slopes of Table Mountain. He is scheduled to make his a court appearance in Cape Town once he has been charged.”